Picasso’s Pizzeria owner will open a restaurant on East Central

Picasso’s Pizzeria owner Kurt Schmidt says he’ll open a second restaurant on Wichita’s east side, ideally within the next six months.

The restaurant will be in the former Warren Travel Inc. space at 5900 E. Central, between Edgemoor and Woodlawn. The original Picasso’s is at 621 W. Douglas in Delano.

Schmidt, who closed his Derby restaurant in January after six months in business and who just announced plans to expand his Delano restaurant, said he wasn’t looking to open another place. In fact, he said, he told his wife it would be three or more years before he’d bring it up again.

But his Delano landlord showed him the Warren Travel space, and he thought it was perfect, he said. Schmidt said he has signed the lease, and his landlord is trying to decide whether to split up the space in the building, which has almost 3,500 square feet, or lease it all to Schmidt, who says he’s game either way.

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Schmidt said it’s hard to predict how long it would take to open the new restaurant, but six months seems doable.

Schmidt has long wanted an east-side Picasso’s but always envisioned opening near Wesley Medical Center. That didn’t pan out, but Schmidt said the East Central spot will be ideal because it will draw customers from both College Hill and the east side.

Meanwhile, he said, construction on his Delano store should begin in a couple of weeks. His hope is that it will be finished by October or November. He’s taking over 2,600 square feet in the space just to the east and will add a bar and more seating.

The new restaurant will have space for a bar, too, he said.

Schmidt opened the original Picasso’s, which specializes in giant, New York-style slices, in March 2012. He opened the Derby location in late 2013 but closed it after six months when business there was not what he expected.